Treatment starts….

Sue's Myeloma Journey

Tuesday 6th December 2022

First appointment at the O’Connor Haematology Unit at Shrewsbury Hospital at 9.30am. Still all feeling very unreal at this point!

Blood test taken first, as blood test results need to be up to a certain spec before any treatment is given, so I just sit in the waiting room and read until called through.

The treatment room is a large bright semicircle of comfortable chairs, each in an individual open section that can be closed off with a curtain, and holds about 10 patients at a time.

Before any treatment can start, a nurse comes along with a very long list of possible side effects, some of which sound very unpleasant, and I need to sign the consent form to accept that I understand what could happen. Not much choice really, if I want to go ahead!

What the treatment consists of is anti-allergy and anti-viral medicine to be taken daily, with two types of chemotherapy. The main one (Velkade) is given as an injection under the skin of the stomach once a week, and the second one is Thalidomide (yes really!). Apparently it helps to kill myeloma cells in clever ways. This one is taken on a daily basis. Steriods are also included, these are taken 2 days a week in conjunction with the chemo injection.

So, I go to the Haematology unit once a week for the injection, which always takes ages, as they are usually running late and short staffed. Blood test first as usual, so by the time I actually get the injection, it’s usually 2 or even 3 hours later! But everyone there is lovely and kind, and I just sit in the waiting room and read. They even supply tea, biscuits and sandwiches…..

I have to take my temperature morning and evening, as the chemo compromises my immunity, so I have to be careful not to catch an infection that could lead to a fever. So, if my temperature goes over 37.5c, then I have to ring up immediately. I have to be careful to avoid crowded places and obviously people with coughs and colds! This is really going to cramp my social life……………

So as to side effects – well really the only thing I have noticed is that the steroids make my stomach feel quite bloated (and windy too!), but I don’t currently have any of the other possible more unpleasant side effects so far, which is good. Indeed, I actually feel quite well, and my energy levels are reasonably good, although the steriods are probably a factor in that. I can manage a brisk 30 minute walk with the dogs with no problems, I am not getting out of breath or feeling tired afterwards.

The initial course of treatment is 6 cycles of chemotherapy, each lasting four weeks, so basically that’s six months of this, after which there will be a review to establish what my response is. If all goes well, then I am due to have stem cells harvested ready for a stem cell transplant further down the line.